Amid such instability it sure would be nice to be able to rely on a steady, long-term investing strategy. That's the basic premise behind the MONEY 70, our recommended list of mutual and exchange-traded funds. Not surprisingly, the list is chock-full of index funds, which by nature never veer off course.
For actively managed funds, you want to park your dough with a professional at the helm who is capable of holding firm
in the face of market volatility, and a fund family that keeps fees low and rewards its managers for earning solid long-term returns. "Most active managers trade too often and rack up costs in the process," notes NYU Stern finance professor Robert Whitelaw.
The average tenure of a Money 70 fund manager is 10.7 years, versus 5.5 years for the industry. And the average expense ratio for our actively managed stock funds is just 0.7%, versus 1.2% for the industry.
Having a dependable strategy doesn't guarantee stability in returns, of course. In fact, when a fund doggedly follows a certain stock-picking methodology -- say, it buys undervalued small firms -- it generally lags when investors are flocking to other types of stocks.
So while long-term performance counts, we don't kick funds off the list for a rotten year. In the long run, you'll do better sticking with funds that stick to their knitting. Eighty percent of the MONEY 70's actively managed funds beat their category average over the past five years.
Large Cap
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMRMX American Funds American M... | +9.44% | +2.00% | 0.62% | Value |
| SSHFX Sound Shore Fund | +11.85% | -1.65% | 0.94% | Value |
| PRFDX T. Rowe Price Equity Inco... | +11.49% | +0.16% | 0.68% | Value |
| VWNFX Vanguard Windsor II Fund ... | +11.79% | -0.22% | 0.35% | Value |
| SWPPX Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund... | +13.95% | +1.14% | 0.10% | Blend |
| SWTSX Schwab Total Stock Market... | +13.62% | +1.64% | 0.11% | Blend |
| FMIHX FMI Large Cap Fund | +12.46% | +3.26% | 0.97% | Blend |
| SLASX Selected American Shares ... | +9.68% | -1.28% | 0.94% | Blend |
| VTI Vanguard Total Stock Mark... | +12.57% | +1.56% | 0.06% | Blend |
| VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | +12.92% | -- | 0.05% | Blend |
| AMCPX American Funds AMCAP Fund... | +11.74% | +1.80% | 0.73% | Growth |
| JENSX Jensen Quality Growth Fun... | +9.66% | +2.58% | 0.92% | Growth |
| TRBCX T. Rowe Price Blue Chip G... | +16.66% | +2.89% | 0.77% | Growth |
| SEQUX Sequoia Fund | +9.71% | +4.77% | 1.03% | Blend |
Mid Cap
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEFIX The Delafield Fund | +10.48% | +2.86% | 1.25% | Value |
| FAMVX Fenimore Asset Management... | +9.72% | +1.04% | 1.23% | Blend |
| VIMSX Vanguard Mid- Cap Index Fu... | +11.09% | +1.37% | 0.24% | Blend |
| VO Vanguard Mid Cap ETF | +11.27% | +1.50% | 0.10% | Blend |
| CAAPX Ariel Appreciation Fund I... | +11.55% | +1.41% | 1.15% | Blend |
| FPPFX FPA Perennial Fund | +6.60% | +2.57% | 1.00% | Growth |
| MERDX Meridian Growth Fund | +8.77% | +5.69% | 0.81% | Growth |
| POAGX PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressi... | +19.54% | +6.13% | 0.69% | Growth |
| WEHIX Weitz Series Fund Hickory... | +12.81% | +2.63% | 1.28% | Blend |
Small Cap
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRSVX T. Rowe Price Small-Cap V... | +10.01% | +3.34% | 0.97% | Blend |
| PENNX Royce Pennsylvania Mutual... | +7.53% | +1.38% | 0.91% | Blend |
| NAESX Vanguard Small Capitaliza... | +11.89% | +2.79% | 0.30% | Blend |
| VB Vanguard Small Cap ETF | +12.01% | +2.94% | 0.16% | Blend |
| VBR Vanguard Small Cap Value ... | +11.62% | +1.92% | 0.21% | Blend |
| RYSEX Royce Special Equity Fund... | +11.07% | +5.41% | 1.15% | Blend |
| WAAEX Wasatch Small Cap Growth ... | +13.36% | +5.31% | 1.24% | Growth |
| BERWX Berwyn Fund | +10.01% | +4.06% | 1.22% | Blend |
Specialty
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSRSX Cohen & Steers Realty Sha... | +13.27% | +4.87% | 1.03% | Real Estate |
| IGE iShares S&P North America... | +1.42% | -0.64% | 0.48% | Natural Resources |
| RWX SPDR Dow Jones Internatio... | +22.12% | -4.13% | 0.59% | Real Estate |
| SDY SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | +6.57% | +3.18% | 0.35% | -- |
| PRNEX T. Rowe Price New Era Fun... | +2.09% | -2.90% | 0.67% | Natural Resources |
| VGSIX Vanguard REIT Index Fund ... | +14.23% | +5.14% | 0.24% | Real Estate |
| VNQ Vanguard REIT Index ETF | +14.21% | +5.26% | 0.10% | Real Estate |
Foreign
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DODFX Dodge & Cox International... | +9.34% | -4.50% | 0.64% | Large Value |
| OAKIX Oakmark International Fun... | +11.84% | -1.56% | 1.06% | Large Value |
| AEPGX American Funds EuroPacifi... | +10.18% | -2.13% | 0.84% | Large Blend |
| FSIIX Fidelity Spartan Internat... | +8.74% | -5.45% | 0.20% | Large Blend |
| VEA Vanguard Tax-Managed Inte... | +8.23% | -5.31% | 0.12% | Large Blend |
| VEU Vanguard FTSE All-World e... | +8.49% | -3.97% | 0.18% | Large Blend |
| VWIGX Vanguard International Gr... | +10.58% | -2.75% | 0.47% | Large Blend |
| VGTSX Vanguard Total Internatio... | +8.58% | -4.66% | 0.22% | Large Blend |
| VFSVX Vanguard FTSE All-World e... | +8.94% | -- | 0.50% | Small/Mid Growth |
| PRIDX T. Rowe Price Internation... | +14.90% | -2.17% | 1.23% | Small/Mid Growth |
| NEWFX American Funds New World ... | +10.30% | +0.26% | 1.02% | Emerging Markets |
| PRMSX T. Rowe Price Emerging Ma... | +8.80% | -2.52% | 1.26% | Emerging Markets |
| VEIEX Vanguard Emerging Markets... | +7.92% | -1.00% | 0.33% | Emerging Markets |
| VWO Vanguard MSCI Emerging Ma... | +8.06% | -0.88% | 0.20% | Emerging Markets |
| UMBWX Scout International Fund | +10.05% | -1.12% | 0.99% | Large Growth |
Bond
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHITX American Funds American H... | +3.94% | +6.60% | 0.67% | High Yield |
| DODIX Dodge & Cox Income Fund | +3.76% | +7.28% | 0.43% | Intermediate Term |
| FPNIX FPA New Income Fund | 0.00% | +3.40% | 0.60% | Intermediate Term |
| HABDX Harbor Bond Fund Institut... | +5.25% | +8.50% | 0.57% | Intermediate Term |
| TIP iShares Barclays TIPS Bon... | +2.70% | +8.22% | 0.20% | Inflation Protected |
| RPIBX T. Rowe Price Internation... | +2.16% | +5.56% | 0.83% | World |
| VIPSX Vanguard Inflation-Protec... | +4.04% | +8.02% | 0.20% | Inflation Protected |
| VWITX Vanguard Intermediate-Ter... | +1.92% | +5.69% | 0.20% | Muni |
| VBISX Vanguard Short-Term Bond ... | +0.38% | +4.48% | 0.22% | Short Term |
| BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ... | +0.53% | +4.58% | 0.11% | Short Term |
| VBMFX Vanguard Total Bond Marke... | +1.36% | +6.83% | 0.22% | Intermediate Term |
| BND Vanguard Total Bond Marke... | +1.36% | +6.91% | 0.10% | Intermediate Term |
| LSBRX Loomis Sayles Bond Fund C... | +6.20% | +7.19% | 0.92% | Multisector |
Balanced Funds
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRWCX T. Rowe Price Capital App... | +10.72% | +4.46% | 0.73% | Balanced |
| VWELX Vanguard Wellington Fund ... | +7.82% | +4.14% | 0.27% | Balanced |
Target Retirement
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRRBX T. Rowe Price Retirement ... | +10.75% | +2.21% | 0.69% | -- |
| VTTHX Vanguard Target Retiremen... | +10.95% | +0.86% | 0.19% | -- |
| Note: While Money Magazine recommends all target retirement funds in the T. Rowe Price and Vanguard fund families, data listed are for the T. Rowe Price Retirement 2020 and Vanguard Target Retirement 2035. | ||||
Data as of Aug 22
Source:
money.cnn.com
